Disagreement among California men leads to Pottawattamie County attempted murder charge

A California man was arrested in western Iowa Wednesday afternoon on an attempted murder charge.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker says the victim and suspect were in a vehicle together before the stabbing happened at a car wash parking lot near Walnut. “Apparently, they got into some type of disagreement as they were traveling on Interstate 80,” Danker said. A total of three men were in the vehicle.

According to Danker, they stopped at a convenience store off of I-80, before they went across the street to the car wash. “The perpetrator apparently used a can of bear spray and sprayed the victim, and then stabbed him approximately 11 times,” Danker said. The victim, 22-year-old Gustavo Romaro of Californaia, was stabbed in both the chest and back. He was last listed in stable condition at a hospital in Omaha.

The suspect was eventually arrested at a DOT weigh station, where Danker said he refused to talk to officers. “Through Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they were able to run his fingerprints and get him identified,” Danker said. In addition to facing attempted murder charges in Iowa, 27-year-old Edgard Castillo was wanted in California for being a fugitive from justice. The third person in the vehicle, Manuel Ortega, was charged with offenses unrelated to the stabbing.